Strangers Remember Me Better

James has started playing WOW again since Sunday and I've used up my free 7-day game time. He's raiding with my brother and 8 others from Haunted Heavens in ICC-10 at the moment and I think they are on 4th boss. He offered to make me a cup of coffee whilst they were on a 5-minute break so I had a nose around in WoW and Ventrilo and said hello to his raid mates. As expected, when guys hear a girl's voice on TS or Vent, they get curious.

"Who's that?" asked their raid leader.
"It's Foxy, Vivien's just making us a cuppa".
"Ah, I know you! The hunter with an awesome DPS"
"Aww thanks, but I'm crap now. I stopped playing"
"But I remember you in Ulduar"
"Yeah we had some fun in there. Vivien's here now, good luck guys!"
"Thanks, we bloody need it"
And everyone who had a mic said bye cheerfully.

Talk about uplifting the army's spirit that is thinly wearing out after a series of wipes :-)

It made me smile tonight. It's nice to know that I left a good reputation in Azeroth.... now to do that IRL... ^_^
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James is not wearing the headset so I keep hearing "Vivien" on vent... I keep looking at his direction thinking someone wants me! Not tonight, Viv...

Bribery in Marriage

James came home last night with a big box of my favourite chocolates. It’s really comforting to know that even after being married for 4 years, he has not lost his sweetness that I adore about him to begin with. Some people have told me many, many times that men change after the honeymoon stage but I always thought it was total rubbish. It’s rather sexist anyway… women can also change after the honeymoon stage of the marriage - but that is if they stop being each other’s best friends. All married couples should learn to ignore the piece of paper which states that they are Mr & Mrs X and instead think of the gift of love and friendship that they may lose if they take their partners for granted. Just because you are married doesn’t mean you have to stop being each other’s mate who will get drunk with the other if he/she loses his/her job, or that person who will laugh with each other just because.

In just a little over two weeks from now, james and i will be celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary and if I have learned anything very important during those years, it is the realisation that FRIENDSHIP is more important than marriage because a strong friendship makes a resilient couple and therefore a lasting marriage. When I’m old and grey, fat and ugly I would not be as attractive or interesting anymore, but I can rely on the fact that our friendship will keep us together and in-love. When all the adventure have come to pass and the excitement of the life we’ve made there won’t be much for us to do or to look forward to. Yes, getting and being old is a scary thought for me. But when love, sex and beer get all too young for us, James and I will be OK. And that is what strong friendship in marriage ensures every couple when you’re both too old and just about had enough of life – COMPANIONSHIP.

Sleety Monday

It's been sleeting last night and this morning so the roads are very icy and dangerous :(
I hope it will be OK to drive tomorrow.
Just finished watching Desperate Housewives Season 6 Episode 12 You Gotta Get a Gimmick. Can't wait to watch Grey's Anatomy comeback episode after the Holidaze. Addison's back on the 13th! =>
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The act itself is quite simple - you strip away the outer layer and reveal what’s underneath. Of course sometimes the results can be quite surprising.
If you strip away the veneer of happy domesticity you may find grief. If you strip away that façade of wealth you may find self-loathing. If you strip away the veil of helplessness you may find cruelty. Yes, stripping can be a dangerous pastime. But for a lucky few, it can also be a lot of fun. - Mary Alice Young, DH.

The Morning After

Oh man that last entry was roughly written!

I wrote that past midnight when I was in the cold living room venting off. James and I fell out last night and I felt like if I stayed in the bedroom I might not be able to keep myself from strangling him. OK, well that is a little bit morbid but I was really angry. As he put it, I was possessed by anger.

This morning though I can't even remember what I was so angry about. Well I remember dropping the toothpaste in the toilet bowl and that was the second time that happened this week. I had a moan at him for not doing something about the slanted bathroom shelf and from there branched out several others - sorting out the aerial cable in the bedroom, drilling a little hole in the kitchen wall for the hook to hang the calendar on etc etc. I think it was what he said in the bathroom that triggered my irritation. He said, "I'll get you a new toothpaste". Yeah, like that is going to make the tiniest difference. "Oh sure... you can buy 10 new toothpastes and it won't help the tilted shelf." Sarcasm really does not help in this kind of situation.

I've been feeling really strange the past few weeks. I feel frustrated at nothing, angry at nothing and I have the urge to cook all the time. I have to stop myself doing that though because only James eat the stuff I cook. Good sign! I have not completely lost my mind as I still recognise the fact that wasting food is something that does not help me or James. Yesterday I made some Ensaïmadas and I wanted to make some pan de sals but I ran out of flour. Well I had some SR flour but that's not good to use to make bread.

I think maybe it has something to do with my Implanon. It's a progesterone-only contraceptive implant and I have always used combination pill. Apparently Implanon users have experienced really bad mood swings and depression or abrupt changes in temperament. I don't really know what it's done to me apart from the fact that it made me gain 5lbs but that doesn't really bother me much. In fact I went on Kellog's website and was told I'm still underweight by their BMI calculator. I don't feel underweight so I am not bothered by that either.
I've always been moody before but never angry. James said to me this morning that I kicked like a footballer last night and was stronger than he remembers. He thinks it has something to do with my implant as well but I'm not advised by doctors to go back on the pill. I think I might do some research on contraceptives again as I don't think Implanon and I are jiving well.

The Case of the Lovely Blue Dress

After spending two weeks unread in my mailbox, I finally opened Blizzard's email with subject heading: Come back to Azeroth and get 7 free days now!
So the first free day began last night. I got bored the minute I logged on, spoke to a few people I know and used to play the game with, but that was about it. Of course I had a quick read on the patch notes but it's really nothing special.

Just in time for Wintergrasp Battle! I queued like before and got the prompt to join the battle some ten seconds later and what a small world! I saw a couple of people from my brother's old guild. And then something strange happened.

We were stood there with another random player and they started talking about arena and how good they are at it. And still wearing just my Lovely Blue Dress from a seasonal quest I did three years ago I pointed at a horde hovering above us on his flying mount and switching targets between me and my groupmates. One of them said "where's the horde?" So since we were in one party I pinged on my mini map, just as the horde was killing an AFK alliance stood at the WG gate. I still have my wardrobe enabled so I quickly put some gear on and from 10k my health points had gone up to 23k, but of course my health pool is still at 10k very slowly regenerating. I flew in the middle of my "pro arena mates" still talking about their "PRO-ness" in PvP stuff but completely ignoring me of course. A healing priest, a paladin and a random... I think it was a rogue. Oh I forgot to mention I marked the horde rogue when I was still in my blue dress! He was busy killing an AFK ally and I was feeling like giving WoW a chance to get just a little bit exciting.

It won't take the horde paladin to kill me in 3 hits... well he must really suck! This situation made me realise how realistic WOW is somewhat. You can have a lot of friends around you, and even have the best person to help you out with a certain problem but that doesn't mean they will help you. Only the ones that care for your welfare genuinely will actually do something - before you are even in an awkward or dangerous situation.

You see in that same situation as soon as I took off my blue dress and put on what gear I had in my inventory, James would have healed me to full - even as protection. And he would have spotted the horde before I did and he would have warned me because it's not rocket science - the enemy will always go for the weakest and in that instance, it was me in my lovely blues dress =>
That horde would not have landed anywhere near me and James. He is that ace.
He doesn't like PVPng as much as me. In fact he doesn't like it at all. But every time he is put in a PVP situation he does brilliant at it. How many times have we won a battle with horde when we were outnumbered, outgeared and outleveled? Like 9/10. My favourite epic open PVP battle is when The Burning Crusade came out and James and I were levelling in Hellfire: level 62 and 63 respectively. A level 75 horde mage attacked us and easily killed it. The body never res'd and suddenly there was this big thing hovering above us - a level 70 lock! After a 2 minute battle with the lock taking healthstone and potions we killed it. It was so funny because he bothered to log on his main to avenger the death of his alt but failed inn a very very epic way. And I think on that same day another 70 lock attacked me and James and with very little hp left, he ran to their camp. Chicken.

Anyway my point is that the enjoyment of playing WoW is also about who and what kind of people you play with. Yes I know it's a game but it reflects a bit of what you are. It's amazing how one person makes me feel safe both in Azeroth and Earth. And he always claim he sucks in PvP... He should hear these people who brags about their epic-ness in arena... and crapness everywhere else.

Just finished watching Desperate Housewives Season 6 Episode 11 If…
I'm not happy that Karl died but the episode was a good one. People always think about the 'what if's' but it is no use really. Because most of the time, the what ifs are how we would have wanted things to have turned out and we just disappoint ourselves and lose focus on the things at hand.


It's -6°C outside so I'm glad I'm nice and warm inside our nice cozy flat :-) xXx

You Wonder Why

You wonder why I can’t love you
It’s not rocket science
Why would I want to be with you
Can’t take all the lies and

I can’t quite figure you out
But I tell you I’m here
When your foolish heart is in doubt
We’ll go out for some beer

I don’t drink but for you I’ll take some gulp
I’ll stay up until we’re both beaten down to a pulp
We’ll laugh it all off until the pub rings the bell
I’ll stick with you until the end of your heartbroken spell.

But I don’t love you and you wonder why
Why I stay through the good and bad times
It makes me happy when I see a shadow of your smile
But I don’t love you in the way you want us to fly

My heart’s not quite as resilient as yours is
I can’t say no to anyone who says “please”
If I get my heart broken, it doesn’t piece itself back together
With just one fast cry
So I learned not to give it away to bad boys
Who play with ladies’ hearts like toys
But I’ll always be here for you and I won’t say goodbye
It’s not rocket science,
And still you wonder why.

-- by Vei 04.01.10 12:41AM

Dinner @ Dave & Jenny's

Had a lot of fun at Dave and Jen's dinner party last night. Every one is so friendly and grounded.

2010 Wishes

I never really make a New Year's Resolution. To me if you really want a change, you don't need to wait for the new year to come, you're just going to do it, right? But the new year should bring new dreams and hopes in our hearts.

I'd like to continue to be healthier though. I'm proud to say I'm no longer underweight and I do have my 5 a day most days => As long as I fit in a size UK4 comfortably then I'm happy.
I'd like to say I'll eat less crisps but I won't make promises I can't keep.
I can promise unconditional love to my family and friends who love me genuinely.

This year I have a few wishes to make:

My wish for my mum is a little holiday anywhere she has not been to yet.
My wish for my brother is stability in his new job or an opportunity abroad. Might as well get paid more for skills like his :-)
My wish for James is stability in his job or maybe even move up in the company ladder.
My wish for myself is a nice fluffy large dog!

And for all of them and all my friends and family, especially my bestfriend Sarah and Karen and my in-laws and Liz, Mama and Mommy and my cousins in New Zealand, my Ninang Opi I wish them all good health and happiness.

Last but definitely not the least, I wish the Philippines a Margaret Thatcher.

The past decade... where has it gone?

New day. New Year. New Decade. But same old me.

The past decade... where has it gone?
[Me from 15 years old - 25]

I could matter-of-factly state that the decade that has just gone is the highlight of my life so far. It started off really great when I won the Essay Writing Contest that I never intended to join in the first place. My English teacher told me I am to write an essay but only after she has already entered my name. It was the UPU International Letter Writing Contest. Sometimes I wish I made a copy of the essay I wrote but at that point in time I was a real mess as I was still recovering from my really rebellious streak - running away from home etc. It came as an absolute shock to me to be honest when my teacher told me she chose me amongst her students when she read about the said writing competition. I was barely attending my classes anymore and alas that year I dropped out of Holy Angel University. A few months later I received a letter of invitation to attend the awards ceremony in Manila for winning the UPU Int'l Letter Writing Contest. I wasn't that chuffed about the award to be honest, I was more excited about the 15,000 pesos that I won. Finally I can buy my own Nokia 3210 :-) A few days after the awarding ceremony, the jeepney I was on drove past my old High School and there was this huge banner that read: "Congratulations, Vivien Blones for winning the UPU...." I remember smiling but only at how ironic it was... I don't even go to that school anymore. And I wished for that split second that I never left it... I would have loved to be the Senior Cheerleader hahaha Now that would have pleased me more.

This decade has been an adventure for me. I got my first job in a small shopping centre as a sales assistant in a mobile phone shop which kind of ruined my interest in going back to school. It felt really good to earn my own money and meet friends who were older than me. I've always liked the company of older people because to me there was just nothing to learn from my fellow teenagers. I moved on to a bigger shopping centre after that, again as a sales assistant but this time at Picture City International. I made a lot of really fun-loving people there. I am still in touch with most of them, and they even attended my wedding.
There I met Larry who asked me to join a beauty contest on telly and Noel who asked me to do a modelling stint for him and David's Salon. I had so much fun at both events but the latter earned me a friend in Kaye whom I really shared some fantastic memories with.

In year 2002 I had the best job ever in Clarkton Hotel and Restaurant. It was an ordinary job otherwise, but since I got to work with my bestest friends ever - Sarah, Karen and Kaye - it was an absolute joyride.


{L-R: Karen, Kaye, Me, Sarah}

We all started as waitresses in the bar & restaurant. I remember having to go to work at 6AM for the breakfast buffet. A few weeks after, the hotel opened a Karaoke Lounge exclusive to the hotel guests and the manager put us four there as we were the most current hires. We worked in the evening but we had a ton of laughter as the karaoke lounge was empty most of the time so it was like we had our own private karaoke place. We damn sang our hearts out!

4ofus with Marty, our weekly band singer.

The past decade blessed all three of them with children that they adore so much.
All what did it bless me with? Well here is a summary:
The past decade I:

• had my first boyfriend
• traveled abroad on my own
• got my first job
• became independent of my parents!
  
• traveled a lot with my mates to Boracay and Baguio
• had my first mobile phone
• had my first PC that was all mine to play my fave computer games on :D [shallow lol]
  
• had pets!
• had enough money to help out my family
• helped my mum set up our own internet cafè
• realised my love for cooking and baking!
• realised how much I gave a toss about people's opinion of me
• I gained two sets of friends: real and virtual
• learned to drive
• managed our family internet cafè where I met James one fateful internet day =>
  

Yep, this decade I met the man who loves me unconditionally! Got married this year and saw the other side of the world which was totally awesome! And of course with that comes a lot of firsts too.
The past decade has been an absolute blessing to me, I was given things I have not even prayed for. I must have done something right. I am thankful for all the friends and all the people who helped me live it up in the past decade and I am looking forward to the next decade with prayers that I will be strong enough to face new trials. I have only one wish for the new decade - I just wish for MORE TIME. More time with the people I love and people who genuinely care about me. If I have that I can overcome anything and I will be very happy indeed to share the next decade with them.